Bontemps Partially Rusticated Acorn Estate Briar Pipe, French Estates

Description

Given its role as essentially the birthplace of briar pipes, France’s Saint-Claude region has been associated with pipe makes than probably any other. Some of these are household names, like Chacom, and others are slightly less known, similarly excellent in quality (not least because of their proximity to especially good stocks of briar root). Bontemps in an example of the latter. Belonging to the Berrod-Regad outfit, who also owned Butz-Choquin, Ewa, Terminus, and others, Bontemps made a lot of a nice pipes in a wide variety of typically “French” styles. This one is a beautifully grained, partially rusticated acorn, with an oval shank and two acrylic accents. It’s quite reminiscent of certain Butz-Choquin pipes, especially their Maitre-Pipier series, so I might wonder if there’s a connection there.

The condition is good. Some rim darkening.

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.91 / 23.11mm

Bowl Depth: 1.69″ / 42.92mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 48g